Debra Barrick | Director

Hours of Operation

Welcome to OACS

Welcome to OACS

The IPFW Office of Academic Internships, Cooperative Education, and Service Learning (OACS) is an academic program created to serve the faculty, students, and staff with scholarly and creative activities and engagement. Below is a brief listing of the programs and services OACS administers.

Co-op is short for cooperative education, a nationally recognized academic training program that involves partnerships between students, employers, and IPFW. This academic enhancement program gives you the opportunity to explore how classroom theory relates to actual employment opportunities, while you remain an IPFW student. The Program is highly successful and has a proven history of benefits to students, employers, and IPFW. (See more)

Academic Internships allow students to combine a credit-bearing independent study with outside, non-paid work experience.

A strong, rigorous academic component must complement the work experience. A faculty member advises the project and evaluates the student’s work. Students must meet the requirements established by their department. Some departments may not have a course established to accommodate academic internships. (See more)

Service learning is a credit-bearing, educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. - Robert Bringle and Julie Hatcher (See more)